Ohio State ran for 296 yards during Monday night's College Football Playoff National Championship Game as the Buckeyes romped all over the Ducks 42-20.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott had 246 yards and four touchdowns, including the Buckeyes' first and last touchdowns of the night. Both stats are Ohio State bowl records.
The reason the game could have ended up a bigger blowout on the scorebard is because The Buckeyes turned the ball over four times, including twice in the third quarter on back-to-back possessions. The first third quarter turnover was an interception from a dropped pass by Jalin Marshall. Oregon scored on the next play, a 70-yard pass from Marcus Mariota to Byron Marshall, and the score was 21-17.
On Ohio State's next possession, quarterback Cardale Jones fumbled in a similar fashion to Florida State's Jameis Winston in the Rose Bowl. Oregon didn't return Jones' fumble for a touchdown this time, however, and Oregon only got a field goal out of the ensuing drive to make the score 21-20 in favor of the Buckeyes.
From then, it was a rout, as Elliott scored three touchdowns. His second of the game ended the third quarter and put Ohio State up eight. His third basically sealed the game with less than 10 minutes to go in the fourth.
Why? Because Oregon's offense started sputtering. After it breezed down the field on the first possession of the game, Oregon's offense was never as crisp. Mariota finished 24-37 passing for 33 yards and two touchdowns, but the Ducks' running game didn't do an effective job setting up the pass.
Oregon ran 33 times for 132 yards, an average of four yards per carry. The Ducks entered the game averaging 241 yards a game at more than 5.5 yards a clip.
The Ducks finish the season 13-2 while Ohio State ends the season at 14-1. Both teams are likely to have quarterback questions next year, as Mariota may declare for the NFL draft and Ohio State could return Jones and both Braxton Miller, who missed the season with a shoulder injury, and J.T. Barrett, who broke his ankle against Michigan.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.
For more Oregon news, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Ohio State throttles Oregon 42-20 in national title game
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